Elder held its first pep rally on August 29th  in anticipation of the football game against Oak Hills.  The pep rally was watched by all students but only a few know how the event really came to be.

Pep rallies are written by the Pep Rally Committee, a group of students who meet and discuss the upcoming rally.  The pep rally committee features students from all grades who attend meetings outside of school hours and rehearsals to produce a quality product.

Senior Ben James is a first year Pep Rally Committee member and also the emcee of the event.  Ben said of his emcee job, “My job is to provide slightly humorous jokes and keep the pep rally flowing from one part to another.  Being the emcee is fun but it’s definitely nerve-wracking.  Much of what I say depends on how I think the crowd is feeling, so there really isn’t a concrete script to follow.”

Before Ben and the rest of the cast have their roles, they must write the script.  Although the pep rallies flow easily, there is nothing easy about writing them.

The writing process was more difficult for Ben than he believed it would be.  “A lot of times we would create what we thought was a great story and have to throw it out because we couldn’t wrap it up with a good ending.  The endings are always the most difficult part to write.  Writing a pep rally is like baking a cake.  You have to add all of the base ingredients (the plot, characters, and actors), and then you can go back and add the icing or the jokes.  I enjoy the imaginative process of the writing process.  Brainstorming ideas is a lot more fun than actually going in and developing the plot of the skit,” said James.

Andrew Fieler, another rally writer said, “Writing a pep rally can be struggling or time-consuming, but in the end it is definitely worth it.  There is nothing to really dislike about writing the pep rally.  It’s a fun time.”

When the script is written by the students, it must be approved by Mr. Reiring.  He also leads the Pep Rally Committee meetings and adds rewrites to the script.

“The pep rallies wouldn’t be nearly as good without Mr. Reiring’s help.  He helps move the writing process along, and he adds a lot more depth to the skits than we could ever come up with.  I think the cuts he makes are pretty fair.  It’s not like he takes our ideas and completely throws them out the window.  He works with us to find a way we can work the jokes into the skit while keeping things appropriate.”

Fieler agreed, “I think Mr. Reiring’s involvement is perfect.  He helps out when our ideas are lacking or are possibly too inappropriate.  He also helps edit the script and assign roles.  Without him, our pep rallies wouldn’t be as good.”

After Mr. Reiring works with the Committee to get a script, roles are assigned and practiced at a rehearsal meeting.  After the rehearsal, the pep rally is on.

The rally for the Oak Hills game was a success and a prime example of the hardworking Pep Rally Committee.

Sophomore Paxton Kelley, who played Rusty the Bell Keeper, though the pep rally went well.  “I think it was a successful rally.  We seemed to make the guys of the student body laugh a lot.  The ending especially got everybody to make some noise.”

Be on the lookout for the next pep rally and be sure to appreciate the hard work, dedication, and long hours the Pep Rally Committee puts into the show.